I find that hard to believe, as I was able to talk to an actual person at the store, just now, unless they were lying to me, but I believe them more than you to be honest.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple REFUSED to sell me an iPhone
- Thread starter andrewlgm
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
- Status
I find that hard to believe, as I was able to talk to an actual person at the store, just now, unless they were lying to me, but I believe them more than you to be honest.
Serious question OP. Do you think Apple should sell the phone to you (as someone who just called and was told to go to store to try and purchase) or to someone who purchased online, paid, and has a confirmed order waiting for them?
How would you feel if you were person B?
"This guy just walked in off the street and I had a confirmed order and they sold it to him!"
How would you feel if you were person B?
"This guy just walked in off the street and I had a confirmed order and they sold it to him!"
Well he certainly gave himself a black eye here. So if that's anything to go by...
Yeah you dont get connected to the actual Apple person in the store, you get routed to the National center like the OP said and then they will look in their system for that particular store and see if they have stock.
Not only do they cost a lot of money, but hope you're not inconvenienced by the issues that come with owning one later. Welcome to the Wait-gate Club. Look at the positive, maybe by the time you acquire one, you will receive a worry-free iPhone. That's what I'm hoping. I'm waiting Thanksgiving for the factory unlocked.
The title of this thread is totally misleading. Apple didn't refuse to sell you anything. They just refused to give you a phone that was pre-ordered by someone else (basically give you another persons property). I agree with the others, your beef is with AT&T on NEXT but you were allowed to order an iPhone and cancelled because you didn't want to wait your turn. Everyone who has been alive for the last 10 years knows that getting a hold of a new Apple product is tough, so what made you so special? Bottom line? You are whining because you didn't get what you wanted. Sadly you sound just a bit entitled.
Yeah that wouldn't go down too well. But your point is valid. I would feel the same way.
Really? That's news to me. Maybe it's because I did the "manager" trick?
I remembering calling my local Apple store one time though and asking them a specific question about the store itself using the regular voice menus and they seemed pretty knowledgeable about their traffic.
Oh well, I stand corrected on that one then.
I'm not looking for agreement, especially at an apple fan-forum. It was simply a bad shopping experience that I decided to share. I can go ahead and say "I love Mac Os." It's the best operating system on the planet, and MacBooks are years ahead of every laptop on the planet. Everybody claps and agrees. I expected nothing short of people calling me "dumb" and blaming me or ATT for the bad experience. But never apple. But I think apple, the phone representative's lack of knowledge, is to blame for sending me to a store that couldn't sell the phone, even though they had it. Did the rep send me to the store? Here's her shopping advice: "You have to go do it at the store for ATT Next while they have it in stock"
I would have been ok with getting there and the phones being sold out (I would wait for the next opportunity), but getting there and having them not sell the device is insulting, especially when two employees confirmed they had it in stock. It greatly diminished and ENDED my desire from trying this new great iPhone. Which by all indications, is the best phone in the market.
This is exactly what happened though. The people who bought them just hadn't picked them up yet. Why do you deserve a phone someone else already purchased?
No. They had extra phones in stock in addition to pre-orders that would go on sell at 5AM next day. Confirmed by two employees. It was the policy to not sell any phones to walk ins. Which somebody in the thread has mentioned is to keep from vultures buying in bulk and selling internationally. Which makes some sense. But not much to national customers.
Seems like you had the option of ordering the phone online and picking up the next day. Couldn't you then just switch to the NEXT program on ATT?
Apple does not sell the iPhone 6 phones directly off the shelf right now, you have to go online to their "Reserve for in store pickup" to get one.
Any phones that come in stock at Apple go to reservation stock.
You want one, wait for 12(midnight) and check your store for stock using the reserve for in store pickup on apples site like everyone else does.
Rigggghhht. Because we all know that there is no scalping of scarce items on eBay or Craigslist in the U.S.
Wait, let me check....
Here it is, all the phones are on Craigslist are selling at a discount because although they are unopened, they are technically not new since they don't come from the manufacturer or a valid reseller....(rolls eyes...sarcasm...)
When I went to my Apple store at day one it was 6PM and they only sold them to people who pre ordered online, so I couldn't join the line and get my phone. When I asked an employee about phone's availability he told me to try at the beginning of the following week.
I went there on day 2 when the AS opened and I was able to walk out with a phone in less than 15 minutes. They didn't get a night delivery of phones, they were already there.
So they lied to me, phones were in stock but they were told not to sell all phones on day one but even on day 2 and day 3, then wait for next delivery.
I went to AS on day 2 because I know they have this policy but I was pissed off on day one since I was already there.
I'm sorry they didn't sell you the phone at the AS, but is not the employees fault since is an Apple policy.
THIS! As I was reading through this thread, what daflake said here is pretty much word for word what I was thinking. You traveled an hour to a store knowing that there was a possibility that you would not be able to get a phone. You got there and were not able to get a phone. What's the problem?
I get that you are upset because the representative told you that the phones would be for sale at 5AM. So? Those phones that are being released for sale the next day are only released if the person who pre-ordered them doesn't pick them up. Maybe at some point before the store closed that person would have showed up to pick up their phone. what is the store supposed to do then? I'm sorry but poor planning on your part does not make a problem on someone else's.
Okay, maybe I am missing something here. They said they do not have a phone to sell you on the Next program because they are only selling to those who pre-ordered online. Those phones are meant for pre-orders and not walk-ins, so why would you not understand that they cannot sell one to you as a walk-in?
But then you cannot do Next on Apple.com, right? So your best bet would have been to walk outside, order one from your current smart phone under a 2-year contract, and go get it. If you can switch to Next from there, then great. I am unsure of the contract details of Next and switching from a traditional contract.
The problem really is that stock is low and this Apple store, if not all, are reserving phones for those who ordered online. I don't know that I see an issue with this at all. You're looking to get the phone for basically nothing out of pocket up front. If you want to do that then you must be patient and order online with AT&T. It sounds like that is really your only option. Unless I am missing something here and Apple.com allows orders for phones via the AT&T Next program.
Also, phone reps may not be aware of day to day operations inside Apple stores. Again, unsure of the policy of not selling to walk-ins throughout all Apple retail stores. It would be good to know, I suppose. You cannot completely blame the phone rep for sending you to the store though. Not completely. You should have called the store itself after being told to go to the store. Finally, I've never called an Apple retail store and got transferred to some call center, never. Not during launches of new products or mundane days where there was nothing new on the shelves.
Sounds like you're cutting off your nose to spite your face. Enjoy your 'subpar' Nexus devices.
Stock allocation for iPhones are inconsistent at best, staff are told on a day to day basis what the deal is. If we had an iPhone showing up in our inventory, it doesn't mean a customer could just walk out with it. It might be allocated stock for carriers, or phones that should have been picked up by now but whoever did the reservation decided to show up whenever they felt like it. Or one of a million other things.
IPhone launch windows are ********, the only sure fire way to get hold of one is if you have a reservation on the system and an email confirmation.
IPhone launch windows are ********, the only sure fire way to get hold of one is if you have a reservation on the system and an email confirmation.
Well, you got what you wanted then!
If you'd have asked my advice beforehand I'd have said avoid the Apple stores and visit a corporate AT&T store.
On launch day, I tried pre-ordering through apple.com, but got hit by the same "no-Next-reservations-online" issue you experinced. I was pissed - so I immediately gave up on the Apple store. Twenty minutes later (at lunchtime) I walked into an AT&T corporate store and got both phones I wanted.
The AT&T store was practically empty for a launch day (30 mins wait for me) and had everything in stock. I even saw them getting fresh deliveries from UPS while I was pulling into the parking lot.
Both days, the Apple store just 5 minutes walk away had lines outside 100 deep. Inside was pure chaos. Go figure?
You missed the whole point. They are not selling to walks INS. Even though I was sent to purchase one on the advice of an apple representative via the phone.
Why didn't I pre-order? I tried online. But Apple doesn't take NEXT pre-orders online. And I called the store to order via the phone. But the store doesn't answer phone calls. The national line does. And they don't do NEXT over the phone either.
That's the point. Why send me somewhere to get a phone while availability lasts if they will not do it anyway to anybody who walks in? Even though they have the phone in stock for both online orders and walk ins? This policy, if it is national, should be known by every apple employee. So, yes, I would have been ok if they had sold out. But they were not sold out. They had the phones in stock. They refused to sell them at that time, and wanted me back at 5AM waiting in line.
----------
I guess it's an experience all around. Some good. Some bad.
----------
I like the painted picture, but I don't feel it's going to turn out like you visualize it.
- Status